CHAPTER XII. 
GENERAL CARE. 
AILMENTS OF DOMESTICATION. 
\/ HE horse seldom suffers from disease when he enjoys his natural 
» freedom and untrammeled activity out of doors, but in domestica- 
tion he soon becomes liable to more or less of the many ailments 
ee? incident thereto. The subject of health is a broad one as applied 
to any animal organism, too broad indeed for any detailed consideration 
that will at once be full enough for its demands, and yet brief enough to be 
read and heeded. As in the human being one seldom studies with pa- 
tience and precision the requirements of health until sickness has come on, 
so the master of a horse is too prone to pass the laws of hygiene of his 
faithful servant until disease has rendered him unfit for the duties required 
of him. As was remarked on a preceding page, it is scarcely less than 
cruelty for one to withhold a due study of the needs of the dumb and help- 
less brutes which are taken from their state of nature and compelled to do 
the drudgery and bear the burdens of mankind. It is too often the case 
that one pays only such heed to his animals as will enable him to draw from 
them the service he wishes, without being humane enough to make due 
provision for the comfort and convenience of the animals, which is 7s 
“reasonable service.” It is the purpose here to make notes upon the ordi- 
nary particulars in the care of the horse, omitting the technical and scien- 
tific data which both deter one from reading what is essential, and are of 
little popular use. In so doing, we shall allude to some of the common 
causes of disease and discomfort and indicate the means of removing them. 
AIR AND VENTILATION. 
Though able to bear severe changes inthe weather when runniag all the 
time in the open fields, the horse suffers greatly from the same influences after 
being comfortably stabled for any considerable length of time. While the cause 
of colds and like diseases is often traceable to atmospheric changes, a very 
frequent source of the same will be found in the anxiety to exclude the air 
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